


I know, you know who's gonna pick you up

by Miss_Romance_Lover



Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-01-30 11:16:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12652479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Romance_Lover/pseuds/Miss_Romance_Lover
Summary: A series of ficlets written for Aaron week. Title comes from Aly & AJ's new single 'I know' - I thought it was apt ;)





	1. Chapter 1

Day one: Write a cute Aaron scene + pets

*

“Aaron? You here?” Robert’s voice carried through the empty office of the vets’. 

The man in question appeared from the back, smiling and gesturing for Robert to join him. He followed Aaron to where the animals were kept, though there was only one rabbit and a dog as far as he could see. 

“No Paddy today?” Robert asked, surprised to find that his husband was the only one around. 

“No, he’s on a call-out with Vanessa. Rhona’s taken Leo out for the day, and Pearl’s just taking a quick lunch break. She cornered me on the way to the pub and talked me into covering this place.”

Robert chuckled. “And you didn’t tell her to ‘do one’? You know, when your text said to meet you here, I assumed you’d stopped for a chat with Paddy.”

“Yeah, well,” Aaron sighed. “I wasn’t busy. And I worked here for a bit when I lived with Paddy. It’s only taking phone calls and keeping an eye on the animals. Misty’s being picked up in a bit too.”

“Misty?”

Aaron opened the cage in which the dog was sitting, and she wandered her way out. He knelt down and stroked the dog’s fur gently, and Robert watched him keeping the animal calm and relaxed.

“Either you’re the dog whisperer, or you just know this dog very well,” Robert remarked, a soft smile on his face.

Aaron didn’t answer, just winked at him. Misty put her paws onto the man’s lap, and when he raised his hands in response, the dog actually copied him and raised her paws again. Robert wondered whether he’d stumbled into a dog show – or an audition for Britain’s Got Talent - without realising. 

“Hello?” A woman’s voice cut into the quiet. Aaron led Misty out to the front, Robert following them. A woman who looked to be in her forties was waiting by the desk. 

“Hiya! She’s all ready to go home,” Aaron told her. The woman smiled pleasantly at him before bending down to greet Misty.

“Thanks, Aaron. This is a surprise! Working here again, are you?”

“No,” he laughed. “Just holding the fort. Nice to see you though. How’s things?”

“Oh, can’t complain. Jess will be chuffed to have Misty back home with us. How about you? Paddy said you’d got yourself married?”

Aaron grinned, sharing a brief look with Robert. “Yeah, I have. This is the husband, actually. Robert, this is Mrs Collins.”

“Hi,” Robert said warmly.

“Oh please, Aaron, how many years have we known each other now? About time you called me Karen,” she insisted. “Good to meet you, Robert. Your lovely husband here used to keep an eye on our Misty whenever she had to come here. My Jess was only small back then and she used to get ever so worried, bless her, but Aaron promised her he’d help Paddy look after her. Off to uni next year, she is.”

“Really? Well, tell her I said hi! And that if she’s old enough to go to uni then I feel really old.”

Mrs Collins – or Karen – stayed to chat for a few more minutes, until the dog started to get restless. Aaron stroked Misty once more behind the ears, while Robert watched on fondly. Karen shared a knowing smile with him at the sight of his adorable, animal-loving husband.

When they had gone, Robert sidled over and kissed him on the cheek. “Heart of gold, you, eh. And to think everyone always says you were a right tearaway round here as a teenager.”

Aaron held onto his husband, hands running up and down the man’s jacket. “I had my moments.”

Pearl burst through the door in her usual loud fashion, but they didn’t break apart. “Thanks, love,” she directed at Aaron, before looking properly and spotting that he wasn’t alone. “Oh! Well I do hope the pair of you haven’t been up to anything in here.” She raised an eyebrow, and Robert couldn’t hold in his laughter, even as Aaron turned bright red.

“I can assure you, Pearl, the only thing going on around here was a spot of dog-sitting. Aaron’s new reputation as a great big softy will be halfway around the village within the hour.”

Aaron rolled his eyes and gave Robert a playful nudge. “Shut up, you.” He looked at Pearl again. “Mrs Collins just left with Misty. Nothing else to report.”

“Ah, that dog’s still got a soft spot for you, I take it.”

Robert grinned. “Haven’t we all,” he said, loud enough only for Aaron to hear. 

“Right, come on, we’re going,” the younger man took Robert’s hand, waved a quick goodbye to Pearl and dragged him out of the shop. Aaron would pretend to be embarrassed for the rest of the day while Robert teased him for being ‘cute’. The next day, he would start looking into finding Aaron a dog of his own.


	2. Chapter 2

Day two: Write a sassy Aaron scene

*

“Mum, it’s getting busy out–ahhhh!” Aaron was stopped in his tracks when his arrival into the pub’s backroom revealed Chas and Paddy in a heated clinch on the sofa. “I really didn’t need to see this!”

His mum quickly pulled away from the man Aaron looked on as a dad, readjusting her top. At least the pair of them were still dressed; it could be worse. But then again, it could be so much better…

“Sorry, love! In our defence, we weren’t expecting you to come in, it’s not as though you still live here.”

Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Oh, well I didn’t realise I had to knock before walking into my own mother’s home. I only came in to tell you it’s getting packed out there and Vic can’t cope on her own.”

Paddy had got to his feet and was now looking awkwardly between mother and son.

“Of course you don’t have to knock, Aaron,” Chas sighed. "I’m sorry, we just got a bit carried away. Tell Vic I’ll be out in a minute.“

"Er,” Paddy said. “I’m…right, well, I’ll just…yeah I’ll just go. Bye.” He wandered out the door, Chas rolling her eyes and Aaron shaking his head at him. He turned back to his mum.

“You know what, take five and I’ll go and help out until you’re ready. Robert’s not here yet anyway, and I need a distraction after seeing that.”

As Aaron left the room, he heard his mum call after him, “Come on, give over. We’re all adults here!”

“Adults use their bedrooms! And lock the door!” he retorted without looking back. She didn’t need to know that the last time Liv stayed at Gabby’s, he and Robert had been ‘adults' in their living room and the kitchen before making it anywhere near the bedroom.

As Aaron joined Vic behind the bar, she gave him a confused look. “Where’s your mum?”

“She’ll be out in a bit,” he told her, already pulling pints for the regular punter that was next in the queue. 

“Right. And was that Paddy I saw shuffling past just now?”

He gave her a look that said, “don’t ask,” just as Robert appeared at the bar. “Sorry I’m late. You really must have been bored waiting to take on a bit of bar work.”

Aaron was pouring the next customer’s wine out. “I’d have preferred a bit of boredom, actually,” he muttered.

Robert looked bemused. “What?”

Before his husband could answer Chas appeared, and Aaron gave a woman her change before retreating from behind the bar. “Right, come on, let’s go,” he said, grabbing Robert’s hand.

“Really? I thought we were stopping for a pint?”

“No thanks!” Aaron grimaced, leading a confused but compliant Robert out of the pub. But if he thought his husband was taking him home for some 'adult’ fun, he might have been waiting a while. At least until Aaron could stop thinking about Chas and Paddy without cringing.


	3. Chapter 3

Day three: Write an angsty Aaron scene + a character of your choice

*

Chas had taken Liv home, and Aaron had just about managed to keep himself together until his worried sister had left. Now he stood outside Robert's hospital room, looking through the window at the fragile man lying in the bed. He braced himself against the wall, feeling that he might not be able to keep upright if he let go.

"Aaron," he looked up to find Paddy heading towards him.

"What you doing here?"

"Your mum called me."

Aaron turned to face him, but still kept a hand on the wall. "You hate Robert."

"Maybe. But I love you, don't I. And you love him. So here I am."

The younger man didn't bother trying to deny it. Of course he still loved Robert. It was the one thing that hadn't changed over the past few months. "I don't want to hear any badmouthing about him, Paddy. I know him better than anything, I know what he's done and what he's capable of; but I also know all the good parts about him."

Paddy nodded. "I'm not here to have a go, Aaron."

Aaron looked at him and let out a deep sigh. And the moment he accepted Paddy's offer of support, he started to wilt. A nurse passed them, on her way into Robert's room to do some checks, and Aaron watched them for a minute before sliding down against the wall until he was sitting on the floor.

"They don't know if he'll even wake up," he said in a broken voice. "He might die, Paddy. And if he does he'll die thinking I didn't love him anymore. I can't lose him, I just can't!"

Sinking down to join him on the floor, Paddy put an arm around him. "Come on, there's no point thinking the worst. And it's obvious to even the dimmest person in the village that you love Robert, so I'm sure he knows it too."

"I barely ever said the words, though. He did, he told me all the time. And I was too stupid and insecure to really believe it."

Aaron couldn't stop the tears then, and Paddy didn't know what to say. He remembered all too well an Aaron that was too scared to let anyone in, to let himself be loved and love that person back. 

"You know after Jackson's accident, all that time we spent in this place with me going out of my head with worry. I remember thinking what a mess it all was. Thinking that my life couldn't ever get any more complicated. But it was straightforward really, when it came down to it. Not what happened to him, what he went through - but our situation. Jackson had just said he loved me, and I knew I had feelings for him but I couldn't work out what they were." Aaron wiped his eyes with his sleeve, looking Paddy in the eye as he continued. 

"Now I can look back and see that it was simple, really. How I felt. But this, now - me and Robert; it's the messiest relationship I've ever had. And it's anything but simple, but I have never loved anyone like I love him, and I know I never will." 

Getting to his feet, Aaron resumed his vigil through Robert's room window, watching as the nurse finished doing the vital checks. Paddy stood up with a little less ease, grunting at the effort. It brought a brief half smile to Aaron's face, so he supposed it was worth sounding like an old man.

He gave Aaron a nudge. "He'll be alright. Robert Sugden has more lives than a cat...well, not that a cat actually has nine lives but, you get my meaning." All Paddy got for his words was an odd look. "Er, never mind."

"You said you weren't gonna make any digs," Aaron pointed out. Paddy looked sheepish, until Aaron broke into a watery smile. "You are right, though. He's a right jammy git."

And he was relying on Robert's 'jamminess' to bring him through this nightmare.


	4. Chapter 4

Day four: Write a funny Aaron scene + food  
  
*  
  
Aaron woke Robert up with a kiss on the cheek. And then another on his other cheek. One on his forehead too; and by the time his husband opened his eyes and grinned sleepily at him, Aaron was pecking his lips.  
  
"Happy birthday," he said, voice soft and fond.  
  
Robert propped himself up on the pillows. "That was nice. They weren't the only birthday kisses I'm getting, I hope."  
  
With a smirk, Aaron pulled back his side of the duvet and got out of bed.  
  
"Where you going?"  
  
"I'll be back in a bit," the younger man told him. "Just stay there."  
  
About five minutes later he was back with a breakfast tray loaded with buttered toast and jam on the side. There were also two cups: a coffee for Robert, and Aaron's usual milky tea.  
  
"Breakfast in bed? What did I do to deserve this, eh?"  
  
Aaron placed the tray carefully in front of his husband and got back into bed, picking up his mug. "Well, you're getting old now, aren't you. Thought I'd save your energy."  
  
Robert tutted. "And here I thought it was because you love me."  
  
"Well, maybe I'm saving your energy for a reason..." he winked, kissing him while Robert still had a mouthful of toast.  
  
"That's more like it," the older man laughed.  
  
"Oh, and I love you," Aaron added, teasing as if it was merely an afterthought. Which it never was, these days. They said the words every day now.  
  
"Mmm," Robert pulled him in for a longer kiss. "Love you too."  
  
Aaron took a slice of toast from the piled up plate and bit into it in his usual messy way. He was oblivious to the incredulous look his husband gave him.  
  
"Aaron!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're getting crumbs everywhere! I only changed these sheets yesterday."  
  
Rolling his eyes, Aaron put his toast down. "Alright, calm down. What did I say just now? You really are turning into an old man."  
  
Robert put his coffee down on the bedside table. "You cheeky..." He poked Aaron in the ribs, the younger man squirming under his touch.  
  
"Get off! Come on, I was only joking. Look, do you want your present or not?"  
  
Repenting, his husband leaned back against the pillows. "Depends if it's better than this toast," he joked.  
  
"Oi, I make good toast, you ungrateful sod." Aaron crossed his arms over his chest, pouting.  
  
"I'm sorry," Robert chuckled. "Come here," he pulled Aaron into his arms. "Thank you."  
  
Aaron extracted himself from the embrace, but only to grab the breakfast tray and put in on his own bedside table. He then rolled over to straddle Robert, kissing him deeply. "You taste of toast," he said as he pulled back.  
  
"So do you. Funny that, when we've just been eating it."  
  
Breakfast was soon forgotten, and Aaron decided that if the crumbs spread all over the sheets it was entirely Robert's fault, not his.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day #5 Set last year, Robert takes Aaron home after his hospital stay post-crash. Includes a little nod to the future Robert/Lawrence plot (what on earth was that last night?!)

Day five: Write an Aaron scene you wish would have happened

*

Aaron was sitting in the chair next to his hospital bed when Robert arrived. 

"Hey, ready to go?" he asked, walking over and kissing him on the forehead. Aaron leaned into it and sighed.

"I am, but we still have to wait for my meds to be sent up, and the nurse hasn't come back to take this thing out of my arm yet." He held up his arm with the cannula in, the empty tubes attached just swinging around as he did so. 

Throughout the week since the accident they had been attached to drips of morphine and several other things to aid his recovery, but now it hung there pointlessly as a reminder of the tiring delay in being discharged.

"So you've just been sat waiting around all day?" Robert perched on the bed.

Aaron nodded, using his other hand to rub at his eyes.

Robert moved to stroke his hair back. "You look knackered. I'm sorry Aaron, you should have called, I would have come in sooner. Why do they bother telling us a discharge time when it could basically be any time?"

"It's fine, you were covering the yard and picking up Liv. There was no point both of us being stuck here bored out of our minds. Missed you though."

With a soft smile, Robert linked their fingers together so their engagement rings ere touching. "Missed you too."

A nurse approached them, breaking their little moment. "Sorry about the wait, Let's get you sorted shall we?" Once she had finally removed the cannula, she said she would phone the hospital pharmacy and chase up Aaron's medication.

"Not long now and we'll get you home to rest," Robert told him. Aaron gave him a weak smile back and closed his eyes, further proving his exhaustion. 

It was another half an hour before the same nurse returned with a bag full of pain relief, anti-sickness drugs and boxes of protected needles - the latter was so he could inject himself every evening with something to prevent blood clots. She also presented them with a yellow bin to dispose of the needles at home. The nurse showed both of them what to do, and though Robert offered to take care of the injections for him Aaron managed to do it himself before he was discharged.

Robert kept a slow pace beside Aaron as they made their way out to the car park. The younger man couldn't walk even half as fast as he usually would, so they took their time. Aaron groaned, clearly frustrated with himself. 

"Hey, come on," Robert soothed. "You're doing really well. You were really poorly, remember. It'll take a few weeks to get your strength back up." 

"Mmm."

By the time they arrived home, Aaron was completely wiped out. Robert helped him up the stairs and into bed. "You want me to leave you to have a sleep?" he asked, pulling the covers around him.

"No. Stay with me?"

Robert wasted no time in taking off his shoes and jacket and joining him, lying next to him and carefully rolling over so they were face to face. "You okay?"

Aaron smiled, hands gripping onto his fiancé's shirt. "Yeah."

"It's so good to have you home. I was starting to go crazy without you here."

Raising an eyebrow at him, Aaron sighed. "Right, what did you do?"

"I may have...wound Chrissie up a little bit."

"Do I want to know how?"

"Probably not. But she might blurt it out next time she's in for a drink, so I guess I'd better tell you."

"Go on."

Robert sighed. "Okay, well she's found out about my history with Rebecca, so she turned up at the pub and started goading me. Even let herself into the back to keep on about it."

"Robert."

"I may have said something about missing out on the hat trick, what with her and her sister...and Lawrence having a thing for me when he hired me."

Aaron sat up at that. "Oh, tell me you and him never--"

"'Course not! That was the joke, Aaron, that we didn't. I was just trying to rile her up. As if I'd ever have gone anywhere near her dad!"

"Well, whatever, you've made me feel sick anyway. Where's that anti-nausea stuff?"

Robert sheepishly got up to search through the bag, finding the right packet. "This one dissolves on your tongue," he said, handing it over. "Want me to get you some water as well, though?"

Aaron took one of the tablets, shaking his head. "Just get back over here. What am I gonna do with you, eh?"

Shuffling closer and nudging their noses together, Robert kissed him gently. "Anything you want, once you're better."

"Let's hope I've got the mental image of you and Lawrence out of my head by then."

"Sorry."

"Hmm. I've got a feeling you might be saying that a lot in our marriage."

"You'll still love me though, right?"

Aaron pretended to think about this, laughing as Robert gasped at the hesitation. "Yeah, yeah I will. Now shut up and let me rest my eyes."

Robert wrapped his arms around him and closed his own eyes. "Yes, dear."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day #6 short but sweet -the realisation of happiness.

Day six: Write a fluffy scene between your favourite Aaron ship

*

"I love you," Aaron said to Robert one morning, completely unprompted, not even during conversation. In fact it was the first thing either of them said that day. Robert had barely even opened his eyes but Aaron knew he was awake.

"Mmm?"

"I said I love you."

"I thought that's what you said. I love you too. You feeling alright?" Robert asked, rolling onto his side to look at his husband. Aaron grinned at him.

"What, is it that shocking for me to say it first?"

"No, but first thing in the morning is unusual. Were you dreaming about me or something?" He winked, and Aaron laughed. 

"Any time I dream about you, you're being an idiot, so no, 'cos then I might have woken up telling you to 'do one'."

Robert nudged their noses together. "Not that I would have listened." He kissed him, long and deep, bringing one hand up to stroke through Aaron's hair. Aaron wrapped an arm around Robert's waist.

When they broke apart for air, the older man asked, "so you're okay? There's nothing wrong, or..."

"Robert, everything's good. That's all it is. Everything is good and I'm still not used to it, but I'm done with questioning it so I'm going to start telling you more often, that's all." And with that, he brought their lips together again and decided he was going to show him as well. Robert was more than willing to be led.

Later, they lay cuddled together and Robert noticed the look on his husband's face. He looked content; carefree. It was a beautiful sight. "You're happy," he commented, a statement rather than a question.

Aaron smiled. "Yeah, I'm happy. Are you?"

"Very."

Matching smiles now. "Good."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day #7 A blast from the past

Day seven: Free choice

*

As he and Robert walked into the café, Aaron heard a familiar voice. "And I said to myself, I said, 'Hazel, you've been away from that village for too long!'"

He froze by the door, spotting her stood at the counter chatting animatedly to Bob. Robert gently nudged him, looking concerned. "Hey, you okay?"

Aaron looked at him, then back towards Hazel - who was yet to notice his presence - and suddenly realised he had no need to be anxious. The situation might be awkward, but he knew this woman. He liked her. He could cope with this.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just, you see the woman over there? That's Jackson's mum, and I haven't seen her in over five years."

Robert instinctively touched the younger man's back, lightly stroking up and down. "What do you want to do?"

"Let's get some coffee," Aaron replied after half a minute. "It's...thrown me a bit, but I do want to see her."

Nodding, Robert walked with him to the counter and ordered their usual from Bob. Hazel turned around during the lapse in conversation with her old friend, and when she saw Aaron her face lit up.

"Hazel," he said simply, a tentative smile on his lips.

"Well look at you!" she grinned. "I see your fashion choices haven't improved. The hair's much better though!"

Aaron couldn't help but laugh, even if it was at his own expense. Next, she eyed Robert, who was wearing one of his many smart jackets compared to his husband's trademark hoodie.

"Now here's a man who obviously knows how to dress," she winked at him. "Don't look so terrified, love, I'm not attempting to flirt with you." 

Even so, Robert's eyes had widened. Aaron, however, wasn't fazed at all. "Well that's good to know, because this is my husband. Robert, this is Hazel. She's not always like this."

"Er, and how would you know these days? You know having to look through your Facebook updates doesn't really count as keeping in touch, Aaron! Robert, it's good to meet you. You have my sympathies."

Aaron rolled his eyes, but Robert could see he was trying not to laugh out loud. "Cheeky cow. Yeah, alright, I'm rubbish." The mood changed slightly as he hesitated before continuing. "I think it just got harder, the longer I left it. And I know you left me that message a while ago but I just didn't know what to say."

With a sigh, Hazel took a step forward. "Oh, come here you daft thing," she said, pulling him into a hug. Aaron allowed himself to relax into it, and when they pulled apart Robert was smiling fondly at him, now holding their coffees which Bob had awkwardly handed over in the meantime.

"So," Robert addressed the woman, realising he hadn't yet said a word to her. It's nice to meet you too, Hazel. How long are you here for? My stepmum's Diane, you probably know her - she runs the B&B now so I'm sure she'd have a room available if you needed."

"Just a night, maybe two," she smiled. "I haven't really decided yet. Diane Sugden, eh? Ah, you're that Robert? Andy and Victoria's brother."

"That's me."

The three of them managed to make small talk for a few more minutes, until Hazel excused herself. But not before mentioning that she would drop into the pub that afternoon. Aaron, now feeling much more at ease, told her they'd see her there after an encouraging nod from his husband.

"Have you been to visit..." Aaron asked before she left. It was clear that he didn't need to finish the question; she knew exactly what he meant. Jackson's grave.

"I thought I'd head over there now actually. Jackson would be proud of you, you know. Some things may never change - like your hoodies - but you look a world away from the fragile young lad I remember. I'm glad for you, I really am. I always hoped you'd make it."

Hazel gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and left it at that. Aaron moved with Robert to sit at a nearby table. It took him a few minutes to really engage in any conversation with his husband; the words from the mother of his first boyfriend still in his head.

Robert put down his drink and reached for Aaron's hand. "Talk to me?"

"Sorry. Just wasn't expecting her to say that."

"She obviously meant it, Aaron. So whatever it is you're thinking, don't. You're always way too hard on yourself. You're amazing, and I'm proud of you too."

Aaron leaned into Robert's side, taking it all in. Later, he would visit Jackson's grave on his own and talk for an hour about old times, hard times, life as it was now...and about Robert. And by the end of it he would feel the kind of closure he never really had over the situation when it was still raw.

And then he would return home to his husband and let himself believe he deserved the life he had today.


End file.
